HIST 40623-015

THE AGE OF JEFFERSON, 1789-1828

 

Instructor:

 

DR. GENE ALLEN SMITH

 

Texts:

Paul E. Johnson, The Early American Republic, 1789-1829 (Oxford, 2006), ISBN-13: 978-0195154238

 

Noble E. Cunningham, Jr. Jefferson vs. Hamilton: Confrontations that Shaped a Nation (Bedford/St. Marks, 2000)  ISBN-13: 978-0312085858

 

Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on her Diary, 1785-1812 (Vintage, 1991) ISBN-13: 978-0679733768

 

Donald R. Hickey, The War of 1812: A Short History  (University of Illinois, 1995) ISBN-13: 978-0252064302

 

Frank L. Owsley, Jr. and Gene A. Smith Filibusters and Expansionists: Jeffersonian Manifest Destiny, 1800-1821 (University of Alabama, 2004) ISBN-13: 978-0817351175

Class Time:

9:30-10:50 T & TH, RH 115

Office Hours:

11:00-12:00 T & TH & By Appointment!

Contact Info:

RH 102; 817-257-6295; E-mail: g.smith@tcu.edu

Class Info:

http://personal.tcu.edu/%7Egsmith/

Dept. Info:

The Frog & Globe

 

1.      Course Description:

          This course is a limited chronicle of the United States during its formative years, 1789-1828.  It begins with a discussion of the results of the Constitutional Convention in 1787; traces the problems faced by the new federal government, including precedents, finances, expansion, ideological and social cleavages, foreign intrigue, war, and its emergence as a truly independent nation; and culminates with the emergence of the Market Economy, the advancement of Universal White Manhood Suffrage, and the election of the "Hero," Andrew Jackson and Jacksonian Democracy in 1828.

 

2.      Objective of the Course:

The Department of History seeks to educate students in the development of world culture and events and to help students understand historical inquiry so they can think and act as informed and ethical leaders and responsible citizens in a global community.  Through an examination of the major events, personalities, and trends in American history the student should:  A) be able to demonstrate a knowledge of important factual information concerning American history; B) be able to offer analysis of the importance of events; C) identify major trends and developments in various periods and areas within the time span of the course, and describe them by explaining their major features and lasting impacts; D) evaluate and analyze historical sources and discourse; E) work with primary and secondary sources; F) present evidence-based conclusions about issues and problems within the scope of this course; G) gain an understanding of how the past helps to shape the present and the future; H) develop skills in reading comprehension as well as verbal and written expression of knowledge.

 

3.      Requirements and Grades:

          There is reading from our class texts assigned for each class meeting (and often website readings of primary documents) that you should complete before our meeting that day; class participation is included as a part of the final grade.  There will also be a mid-term and a final exam for a total of two examinations during the semester.  In addition there will be required one 750-word web site review and one 750-word critical book review of Laurel Thatcher Ulrich’s, A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on her Diary, 1785-1812.  Students are expected to participate in the discussion and will be graded accordingly. All exams/projects will be due on the listed dates and weighted as follows:

 

MID TERM EXAM

MAR 6

25%

BOOK REVIEW

FEB 21

15% 

WEB SITE REVIEW

APR 10

20%

CLASS PARTICIPATION & POSITION PAPERS

Each Class

10%

FINAL EXAM

MAY 6

30%

 

          Exams will consist of identifications and essay questions.  The web site to be reviewed has to be approved by the professor. You will want to follow the book review guidelines and website review guidelines.  Also, listed below are some examples of scholarly reviews of websites:

The American Memory Website

American Library Association Archives

Birth of the Nation: The First Federal Congress, 1789-1791

Constitution Community: Expansion and Reform, 1801-1861

 

          FINAL GRADES ARE DETERMINED AS SUCH:  A=100-90; B=89-80; C=79-70; D=69-60; F=59 and below.

 

          Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated.  This includes plagiarism (the act of passing off the work of another as one’s own), copying the exam or paper of another student, and changing a grade, notation or answer on an exam or paper that has already been turned in, graded and returned.  Students found guilty of academic dishonesty will be penalized to the fullest extent possible which may include a failing grade for the course.

 

 

Texas Christian University complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 regarding students with disabilities.  If you require accommodations for a disability, please contact the Coordinator for Students with Disabilities in the Center for Academic Services, located in Sadler Hall 11.  Further information can be obtained from the Center for Academic Services, TCU Box 297710, Fort Worth, TX 76129, or at 817-257-7486.  Adequate time must be allowed to arrange accommodations and accommodations are not retroactive; therefore, students should contact the Coordinator as soon as possible in the academic term for which they are seeking accommodations.  Each eligible student is responsible for presenting relevant, verifiable, professional documentation and/or assessment reports to the Coordinator.  Guidelines for documentation may be found at http://www.acs.tcu.edu/DISABILITY.HTM.  Students with emergency medical information or needing special arrangements in case a building must be evacuated should discuss this information with their instructor/professor as soon as possible.

 

4.      Attendance:

            Students are expected to attend ALL scheduled class meetings, as this is not a correspondence course.  My attendance policy reads as follows:  "Each student in THIS History Department course is entitled to one unexcused absence per hour for each course (3 unexcused cuts for a 3 hour course) without penalty.  For each unexcused absence in excess of that number the student is liable to deduction from his/her final grade of one letter-grade."  Official school business, with a certified written excuse, is the exception.  In other words, come to class, be on time, and turn off cell phones, pagers, and beepers!  

 

            The professor will communicate frequently with the class via e-mail, so students should check their TCU accounts on a daily basis.

 

 

 

SPRING 2008

Tentative Daily Schedule

Each student should print, read, and be prepared to discuss the documents in class on the assigned day.

 

JAN 15

Introduction

 

JAN 17

DISCUSSION

Rip Van Winkle

 

 

 

JAN 22

The Great Experiment

Johnson, pp. 3-10; Cunningham, Chapter 1

JAN 24

A New Government in Operation

Cunningham, Chapter 2; Resolution of First Congress Submitting 12 Amendments to the Constitution, March 3, 1789

 

 

 

JAN 29

Hamilton's Vision of America 

Johnson, pp. 10-16; Cunningham, Chapter 3

JAN 31

Hamilton vs. Jefferson: The Emergence of Political Parties

Cunningham, Chapter 4

 

 

 

FEB 5

Genêt, the French Alliance, and the Crisis of 1794

Johnson, pp. 16-18; Cunningham, Chapter 5; Proclamation of Neutrality, 1793

FEB 7

Opposition to the Government

Johnson, pp.18-22; Treaty of Greenville, 1795 & Whiskey Rebellion

 

 

 

FEB 12

Growth and Conspiracy

Johnson, pp. 22-24; Washington's Farewell Address

FEB 14

A Ship of State in Troubled Waters        

Johnson, pp. 24-27; Alien & Sedition Acts/Virginia Resolution, December 24 & Kentucky Resolution, December 3

 

 

 

FEB 19

The Revolution of 1800

Johnson, pp.27-29; Cunningham, Chapter 6

FEB 21

Republican Simplicity      

Book Review DUE!

Johnson, pp. 31-34; Cunningham, Chapter 7; “The Republican Wife: Virtue & Seduction in the Early Republic”

 

 

 

FEB 26

From the Atlantic to the Pacific with Lewis & Clark

Johnson, pp. 37-40; Owsley/Smith, Chapters 1-2; Treaty of San Ildefonso & Louisiana Purchase Treaty; Lewis and Clark

FEB 28

No More Tranquility

Johnson, pp. 34-37, 40-42; Chesapeake Affair; American Reaction; Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves, March 2, 1807

 

 

 

MAR 4

Growing Pains                                   

Johnson, pp. 42-43

MAR 6

MID TERM EXAM

 

 

 

 

MAR 11

SPRING BREAK—NO CLASS!!!

 

MAR 13

SPRING BREAK—NO CLASS!!!

 

 

 

 

MAR 18

Perpetuating the Dynasty

Johnson,  pp.43-45; Owsley/Smith, Chapter 3; Entanglement in European Affairs 

MAR 19

LAST DAY TO DROP CLASS

 

MAR 20

The Reasons for War

Johnson, pp. 45-48; Hickey, Intro & Chapter 1; Owsley/Smith, Chapter 4; An Act Declaring War Between the United Kingdom of Great Britain . . . and the United States

 

 

 

MAR 25

Great Expectations

Hickey, Chapters 2-3; Owsley/Smith, Chapter 5

MAR 27

Defeat Snatched from the Jaws of Victory

Hickey, Chapters 4-5; Treaty of Ghent

 

 

 

APR 1

The Selective Memory: Post War Nationalism

Johnson, pp.51-53; Hickey, Chapter 6 & Conclusion

APR 3

An Era of Good Feelings

Johnson, 137-143 & Ch. 3 (pp. 55-83)

 

 

 

APR 8

Storm Over the Gulf

Owsley/Smith, Ch. 6-9

APR 10

Panic in 1819—Economics Impacting Society

Website Review DUE!

Johnson, Ch. 4 (pp. 85-109) Panic of 1819

 

 

 

APR 15

A Wolf by the Ears—Slavery & Missouri

Johnson, Ch. 4; Thomas Jefferson and His Slaves

APR 17

The Doctrine of Two Spheres

Monroe Doctrine; Owsley/Smith, Chapter 10

 

 

 

APR 22

A Developing Nation

Johnson, Ch. 5 (pp. 111-134)

APR 24

The Corrupt Bargain: Adams, Clay, & Jackson

Johnson, pp. 147-155

 

 

 

 APR 29

The Election of a Hero—From Jeffersonian to Jacksonian America 

Johnson, pp. 155-165 

 

 

 

MAY 6

(Tuesday)

FINAL EXAM

8:00-10:30